10. OS 19. His Elusive Lover (Part 10)

Part 10

Khushi stood at the connecting door, a hand lifted to knock on it.

She wondered if ASR had slept at all last night. The light was still switched on.

She looked at the time. It was early. Maybe she should stay in her room till he woke up.

She heard a slight sound in his room. So he was up?

She knocked lightly.

“Come in,” he said in his husky voice that sent her toes curling.

Khushi took a deep breath to fortify herself against his presence and opened the door.

He was fully dressed and ready to attend the aarti. If his face looked drawn and tired, she made no remark on it.

He looked at the enchantingly beautiful girl framed in the doorway and felt his heart skip a beat. He dragged his eyes from her and looked down at his chest. So he had a heart?

He looked up at her. Dressed in a blue saree and with her hair unbound, she looked like a fairy who had stepped on earth. Her innocent, clear eyes were clear of any intent to attract him.

He drew in a deep breath. Nani had phoned him early in the morning that Shyam had arrived, bag and baggage.

He looked at a waiting Khushi.

He had to parade her before Shyam. There was no other option. The game was well underway. There was no backtracking now. He had to let Shyam interact with her, but without him posing a danger to Khushi. He would have to be very alert, very careful. It was imperative that Shyam was removed from di’s life, but not at the expense of Khushi’s safety.

“We...we need to start work after aarti,” he said briefly.

Khushi didn’t bother to reply. His order had to be followed, even when couched in the form of a request.

“Ready?” he asked.

She looked into his eyes for a moment. The word seemed to carry a significance that slipped her.

“Yes,” she said softly.

He walked to the door of his bedroom, opened it and stood waiting for her to pass through. He then walked by her through the corridor and down the steps.

The whole family beamed to see the couple.

“Hamre Arnav bitwaa hajj come down for aarti, Sassumma,” mami said in nani’s ear, quivering in excitement.

Nani smiled, but her eyes were worried as they rested on Khushi and Arnav. “I informed Chotey that Shyam arrived early in the morning,” she said under her breath. “He will be down for pooja just to see Khussi bitiya.”

Mami snorted. “Lets him. Bhat can he do bhen hamre Arnav bitwaa ijj with Khussi?”

Arnav looked at the landing from the corner of his eyes.

Anjali and Shyam were descending the steps.

Arnav moved a step closer to Khushi, who looked at him with a question in her eyes. Did he want her to do something?

Arnav stood there, tense, waiting for Shyam to join them.

“Naniji, mamiji, mamaji, Akash, Arnav, here I am, ready for pooja in the morning,” declared Shyam expansively, one eye trying to catch a glimpse of the slim figure standing by Arnav. But all he could see was the top of her head and the pallu of her sari. Arnav’s broad shoulders and tall frame were hiding the root of all his heartburn from his eyes.

Shyam firmed his lips, making his mind to openly demand an introduction to this girl, but nani said, “Damadji, we want to introduce you to a special person, our guest, but after the pooja is done.”

Shyam had to grin and wait till the pooja was over.

“Khussi bitiya, please distribute the Prasad,” nani said softly as she walked up to Chotey and handed over the thali with laddoos to Khushi.

Khushi looked anxiously at Arnav. She was just an employee who happened to be staying at his house, not a member of his family. By rights, mami or Anjaliji should be distributing the prasad.

He inclined his head slightly, giving her tacit permission to do as requested.

Khushi took the thali. She gave nani a laddoo. Mami quickly joined them. Khushi gave prasad to mami.

Nani whispered to Khushi, “Khussi bitiya, give prasad to Chotey only at the end after you have given the others. He can’t take a whole laddoo because of his diabetes. Give him only a small piece.”

“Ji, naniji,” Khushi replied.

“And don’t gib it in his handswaa. Naahi to he bill become gussa. Khila diyo so that there ijj no ghee and sugar on hijj handswaa,” mami explained.

“Ji,” Khushi replied, not at all surprised that ASR could lose his temper on something as trivial as this.

Mama and Akash walked up to Khushi and took their prasad.

Anjali limped to Khushi for Prasad. Akash blocked Shyam’s view of Khushi till she was done. Then he said, “Khushiji, please give jijaji his Prasad.” He moved out of the way.

Shyam stopped in his way.

His eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The girl who could sound the death knell for his plans to get rich without moving a finger was stunning. His plans to buy off or threaten the girl into leaving Arnav flew right out through the window. New plans sprouted wings, all involving him in horizontal position with this hot girl.

ASR saw the lust in Shyam’s eyes and he clenched his fists to stop himself from knocking him down.

“Shyamji, this is the Khushiji I told you about,” Anjali said, smiling away. “Khushiji, this is my husband, Shyam Manohar Jha. He is a lawyer.”

“Namaste,” Khushi said, inching closer to ASR. There was something about Shyam Manohar Jha’s eyes that made her want to puke...if possible, all over him.

“Namaste, Khushiji,” Shyam crooned. “I can’t tell you how delighted I am to meet you.”

Khushi quickly held out a laddoo so that his attention could be diverted.

Shyam tried to touch her fingers while taking the Prasad from her, but Khushi foiled his plan by dropping the laddoo in his hand and withdrawing her hand.

Arnav swallowed through a throat with frozen muscles. His whole body was so tense that he was in danger of breaking into tiny pieces.

Arnavji was right, Khushi thought. This Shyam Manohar Jha was not a good man. She promptly turned to Arnav, broke a piece of laddoo and held it up to his mouth.

Intent chocolate brown eyes looked into her hazel ones as he parted his lips. The soft tip of one finger touched his lower lip in the most tender of touches, just a brush really. He felt a fire burn through him. She withdrew her hand as fast as possible.